Keith Richards Love Songs

Keith Richards writes love songs.

What I love about them is that they are always on the periphery of what is considered acceptable love. They are his take on the oh so many ways that love rears its ugly head.

I have been listening to "Bridges To Babylon" lately; a Stones album released in 1997. And don't give me that crap about "The Stones have not recorded a good album since "Exile on Main Street".

Bullshit. Keith Richards would not put his stamp of approval on anything that was not exceptional.

This album has three Keith songs. I love them all.

"You Don't Have To Mean It." This one sings about the deep rooted need to hear the words "I love you" whether you mean them or not. There are many songs out there dealing with this need and the concept blows me away.

The fact that you are so alone, so hurting, living with a love so unrequited that you need someone to tell you they love you even if they don't - tells you everything you need to know about how painful it is to be human and the illusions it takes to survive.

I like this one because he never says the words he wants to hear. He never refers to the phrase "I love you." He dances all around it but you know exactly what he is referring to. "I just want to hear you say to me sweet lies, baby, baby, dripping from your lips."

My favorite line - "Hmm just say those little words, sit on my shoulder like a little bird."

What? I love it.

"Thief In The Night". This one is about his love for a woman who is with another man. "I know where your place is and it's not with him."

I love the certainty. The certainty that she is with the wrong man and the certainty that he will convince her away.

"I'm gonna steal what's mine, oh I'm gonna break the laws, but I'll get through your door, but you wait and see, yeah, I'm gonna get ya, get you free."

"I found out where he keeps you, I've even been inside, you check under your pillow, baby, you'll get the message, if I see you at your window, well then I'll know no one can separate us.........like a thief in the night."

"How Can I Stop." This one really massages my emotions. He wants this woman so badly, needs her so madly, he knows that once he starts with her he's gonna get hurt. If she doesn't commit all the way, if she breaks it off at some point, he will be lost.

"You offer me all your love and sympathy, sweet affection, baby, it's killing me."

Chorus: "'Cause how could I stop, if I start, babe, how could I stop, if I start, start with you."

He evens encourages her to move on. "It's too easy to lay here at your feet, I couldn't take the heat, there's somewhere else maybe you should go, baby maybe baby just further down the road."

The idea that he could love a woman so madly but is not sure that love will be returned in intensity, so unsure that he hesitates to light the fire, is achingly real.

My favorite line - the killer line - the truth of all relationships is..................

"You look at me but I don't know what you see, a reflection baby of what I want to be."

We stumble into relationships with rose colored glasses and what we see is maybe the best the other person can be, even if they never achieve that, even if there are plenty of signs saying that they are not there yet and it probably ain't gonna happen.

We stumble into relationships and try so hard to be what the other person sees. At least up front. We want to be the ideal that is projected because we know that ideal is a better person than we really are.

Dial yourself up some Keith Richards love songs and twist your perspective on love; or open your eyes to the truth.

It's out there and all around you.